


7 Times Iruka Met Yamato

by hhhhhhhappycow



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, I don't know why but a lot of these chapters involve drinking, M/M, Mentions of Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Set post-Naruto but pre-Boruto, Tags will be added, That is my entire motivation for writing this, i want them to be friends, mentions of orochimaru - Freeform, mostly just more characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24327676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhhhhhhappycow/pseuds/hhhhhhhappycow
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Umino Iruka & Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

Iruka stopped by Kakashi’s office frequently enough to know when the man himself will not be there. Which was why he wasn’t surprised to find the Hokage's desk empty as he approached, papers bundled in his arms.

“Are those for Kakashi?”, Shizune asked, barely glancing up from her own paperwork as he entered the room. Her fingers flitted deftly from page to page, signing and casting sheets aside at a rapid pace that Iruka himself, for all of the marking tests he did, did not think he could match.

“Yes.”

“He’s meeting with some of the clan heads. Leave them on the desk and I’ll let him know you were here.”

“Thanks.” Iruka smiled at her and was rewarded with a sunny look in return.

To tell the truth, he had picked this moment to go in precisely because he knew Kakashi wouldn’t be there. He had been bogged down by work and didn’t think he could take Kakashi’s frustratingly mysterious comments over his reports on the students who were coming up to graduate. Iruka’s scribbled recommendations on teams had been met last year with passive disdain and, when the finalized list of teams was released, he was surprised to discover his suggestions had been heeded. But he was simply too tired to go through that kind of cross-examination again.

“Iruka?”, Shizune asked, and he realized he was standing slump-shouldered in the entrance to the Hokage’s office. “Are you alright?”

He hastened to straighten himself. That turned out to be a bad idea when the room grew clouded and began to spin, and he steadied himself against the edge of Shizune’s desk.

“Perfectly fine. I’ll be off now. There are just a few more things I need to prepare for class-“

“Iruka, I think you’re working too much.”

Well, there it was. And from perhaps the last person he would have expected to come out with it so bluntly. Then again, he supposed, she was Tsunade’s student and a medical expert. Although it wasn’t exactly difficult to spot the dark circles under his eyes, the product of too many late nights and early rises. It seemed everyone had those same dark circles, to some degree, since the end of the war over two years ago. After the celebrations ended, they had to cope with the reality of having lost multiple shinobi. Trying to fill the gaps that had been left behind was… hard. Impossible, even.

“I’m…” There was no use lying to her. “It’s been tough. But I’ve been interviewing some new potential teachers, and once they’ve completed their training we should be almost back to being fully staffed.”

That was another thing he’d been hoping to talk to Kakashi about: He had hoped to offer Shino a permanent position at the school and wanted to make sure Kakashi hadn’t had another post in mind for him. He was a talented shinobi, sure, yet after seeing him drop in and spend some time helping out at the school over the past couple of months Iruka had a hunch that teaching could be something he’d both enjoy and excel in. Or, at the very least, manage. It was probably best to check with Kakashi first, though.

Shizune finally shifted her paperwork to one side and turned her full attention towards him, eyes round with sympathy. “It has been tough. You are taking care of yourself though, right?”

“Of course.” Iruka gave a small chuckle and scratched at the back of his neck. He’d been trying.

“Good.” She laughed a little as well. “You do know that your class isn’t graduating for half a year yet, and those recommendations are extremely early, yes?”

Iruka rubbed the back of his neck a little more. “… I know.” He wandered back over to the main desk, in front of the windows overlooking the village, and deposited them there. “I just wanted to make sure Kakashi knew who to watch out for. Get my impressions in early.”

Shizune sighed and, when Iruka turned back to her, she had pulled the next stack of paperwork in front of her. “Get it out of the way. I get that.”

She brightened up all of a sudden. “Oh, I want to invite you- I’m not sure if I should because- well, it’s a work event, but it’s not really a strict one, and you know most of the people who will be there, so I’m sure it’s not a problem. If anyone has an issue, encourage them to take it up with me.”

“Invite me where?”, Iruka asked cautiously yet optimistically. He needed some time out. But with all the work still to be done…

“Some of us that work in the office here decided to organize a night out at New Years. Since that’s the only time we’re probably going to be free.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “Kakashi isn’t coming. He said he’s going somewhere with Gai. Something about a challenge. I didn’t ask.”

Iruka considered. Winter was already digging its claws into the village, but New Year was still over a month away. And he didn’t have any plans. New Year might be the only chance he got to go out and have fun. He thought of some of the others he often saw in the office with Kakashi; obviously Shizune, sometimes Genma or Raidou or Kurenai, occasionally Izumo and Kotetsu… He got along well with all of them. Then he remembered that Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru were often also hanging about the office, and grimaced.

“Who else is going?”

“Who else is going where?”

Both Iruka and Shizune jumped as Kakashi appeared in the doorway.

“Kakashi! You need to stop doing that!” Shizune yelped, crossing her arms across her chest in mock-anger as Kakashi snickered to himself.

“Hello, Iruka”, the Hokage continued blithely as he made his way around to his desk. Once he was seated, he folded his hands together on the gleaming- and conspicuously empty, asides from Iruka's report- wooden surface and blinked between the two; “Really, though, who else is going where?”

“Oh, New Year”, Shizune waved a hand.

Kakashi grunted and averted his eyes to his desk, apparently losing interest. Only to perk up again a moment later.

“Iruka, is this about your recommendations for teams next year?”

“Erm…” Iruka shuffled his feet and shrugged in his coat. “Yes.”

“You’re early. Why don’t you go through it with me now? Tell me your thoughts.”

Iruka was sure Kakashi didn’t intend it as a challenge, but that was how it hit him. “I… Have to go home now. Sorry.”

Kakashi nodded sagely. “Get some rest. You look awful.”

“Will do, Lord Sixth. And bye, Shizune.”

He’d made it a few steps out the office before it occurred to him to turn back and call; “And I’ll be there! For New Year’s, I mean!”

Shizune simply grinned in reply, waving one hand as she moved to close the office door. Iruka's last glimpse inside was of Kakashi leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on top of his report.

*

The bar they ended up in was small and, thankfully, quiet. Iruka met up with Shizune beforehand, just down the street, finding her speaking with Izumo and Kotetsu. He was happy about that; he knew them both well enough. Although they were jonin- Iruka tried not to pay that much attention to rank, but it was undeniable that, in their society, rank mattered- they had all been chunin together. From the huge hug Izumo gave him, it seemed that they had already begun the festivities. From the stare Kotetsu was giving him, it seemed that Izumo had gotten into the worst state. It was usually the other way around.

“Hey, hey, Iruka! Long time no see. Where have you been hiding?” Izumo didn’t let go of him as he spoke, keeping one arm slung about Iruka's shoulders. Iruka tried to shuffle back a step, only to relent and press back against the man’s side as Izumo began to sway slightly.

“Oh, you know how it is”, Iruka replied, ignoring the increasingly agitated looks Kotetsu was throwing at him, “Work has been busy.”

Izumo nodded sagely, head swinging up and down slowly. It reminded Iruka of the way a large dog moved its head. “You need to get out more. It’s been forever! We’ve missed you, haven’t we, Kotetsu?”

Kotetsu met Iruka’s gaze for a long moment. “Yeah.”

Iruka shrank back into his coat and tried not to make it obvious that his face was burning with the cold. He glanced at Shizune for help, only she was staring absentmindedly in the other direction, watching the street Iruka had just come from swirling with snow. _What were they waiting for?_

The answer arrived in the form of Tsunade.

One moment the street was bare, the next the former Hokage was striding towards them at full speed, her long cloak flapping open as always, regardless of the icy conditions. She had lost none of her commanding presence in the years since she stepped down from her office.

Iruka was surprised to see her, although not particularly shocked. It was well-known throughout the village that Tsunade liked to go for a drink or ten now and then. And with Shizune here, it should have been a given that her old mentor would surely show up.

Beaming, Tsunade took in the small group huddled in the cold, hands on her hips, and then eyed Iruka and Izumo.

The teacher found himself shrinking even further inside of his jacket momentarily, and then he realized that he may seem rude. He couldn’t give Tsunade a bad impression of him like that. Quickly straightening his back, he gave her a hasty smile.

She raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Shizune.

“What are you all doing standing out here? I hope you weren’t waiting for me?”

“Oh, no, Lady Tsunade, not at all. We-”

“We were”, Kotetsu cut across her. Iruka caught Shizune throwing an annoyed glance at him, but Kotetsu didn’t seem to care.

“Right.” Tsunade shook her head minutely and then, mercifully, suggested; “Why don’t we head inside? If anyone else is coming I’m sure they can make their own way here.”

Iruka let Izumo continue to lean against his shoulder as they followed Tsunade and Shizune inside, Kotetsu bringing up the rear. It was much warmer in the building and he felt his face flushing pink, the tips of his ears stinging.

He quickly scanned the bar for somewhere quiet to sit down and deposit Izumo, so that he could get both his coat and Kotetsu off of his back.

Waiting for them at a dimly lit corner table were Genma and Raidou, each one nursing a tall glass between their fingers. They both introduced themselves, despite Iruka having had multiple conversations with each of them before, and Iruka discretely rolled his eyes. Jonin.

A drink was pressed into his hand by a gently smiling Shizune. He took a sip as he sat down on the cushioned bench set back against one wall and winced at the cold trickling down his throat. It was a few minutes before the muggy heat of the bar really reached him and he shrugged out of his jacket.

Chatter and laughter danced about Iruka but didn’t touch him. It was hardly surprising that he didn’t fall into the patter as easily as the others, he supposed, since he didn’t know them as well.

Izumo leaned back on his shoulder. He seemed to be getting pretty comfortable there. Iruka spotted, over the top of his friend's head, that Kotetsu was already nearing the end of his first glass.

“Aren’t you usually the one getting embarrassingly drunk?”, Iruka asked, nodding to Izumo. He was sure he could remember a few occasions when they were all chunin together.

The Kotetsu that began drinking that glass may have glared at the light teasing, but now he seemed to have simmered down. Instead he snickered.

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one. I remember you doing some dumb stuff after a few drinks. You always had to be the center of attention back then.” He shook his head, spiky hair sticking out all over the place. “A lot’s changed.”

Iruka smiled gently, good-naturedly. The condensation on his glass rolled over his fingers. “It has.”

It was a couple of drinks later when the dark figure appeared standing beside them, looming over their group.

Iruka squinted; he didn’t recognize the man standing by their table. He tensed. How could he have let himself be so carefree? Yes, the war was over, but there were still dangers out there. And he was with Tsunade, a former Hokage, and Shizune, the Hokage’s assistant. Genma and Raidou, too. High profile targets. Frantically attempting to reel his brain in to assess the situation, Iruka steeled himself and let his fingers tighten around his glass, lifting it from the table, ready to strike if need be.

Until Tsunade, a few more drinks in than the rest of them, yelled; “Yamato!”

The man gave a steady smile, breaking his dark aura, and Iruka recognized him now: Kakashi’s friend. One of Naruto’s former team leaders. They had spoken a few times before, most likely, although Iruka couldn’t quite recall when.

Tsunade tottered over to greet Yamato, her green cloak swinging out behind her and blocking Iruka’s view. When she moved away again Yamato’s hair was sticking out all over the place and he was protesting somewhat demurely, smoothing the brown locks back into place as she turned towards the rest of the group.

She paused next to Iruka.

“More sake?”, she asked, as she lifted a bottle of sake and proceeded to top up his glass.

Iruka realized he was still holding the cup aloft and set it down on the table, relaxing his grip. She continued past him.

Yamato was saying something to Shizune. Iruka leaned in to listen, glad that Izumo had now awoken and was no longer draped on him, and instead was deep in conversation with Kotetsu and an uncomfortable-looking Raidou.

“I was just finishing up the last of the mission reports”, said Yamato.

Shizune pulled up a chair next to her and the man slumped into it, shrugging out of his jacket. She rolled her eyes and nudged his arm. “You should have just left them. Kakashi doesn’t care as long as they get done, and it’s not like the village will collapse in one night. We could have gone through them together tomorrow afternoon.”

Yamato chuckled. His fingers twisted together on the table. “At least I saved us some work. Besides, depending on how tonight goes, we might not be capable of looking over reports tomorrow.”

“Here’s hoping.” Shizune raised her glass to him. She noticed Iruka watching. “Iruka, you’ve met Yamato before, right?”

Iruka nodded. “A few times.”

Yamato met his eyes and Iruka racked his brain trying to work out what it was about him that seemed different. They weren’t exactly close. Iruka's knowledge of Yamato was limited solely to some brief interactions over the past few years. Yet there was something off tonight. Something that wasn’t in line with his memories of Yamato.

“You were Naruto and Sakura’s teacher, right?”, asked Yamato. Iruka had the feeling that he was trying to break the silence, and shook himself, wondering if his staring had been rude.

“Yes.”

“How were they as students?”

“You mean, were they the same as when you taught them.”

Yamato smiled, letting his hands fall into his lap. “Something like that.” He waited. “Were they?”

“Hmm.” Iruka pretended to think about it. “Yeah.”

Which was when Tsunade reappeared and slammed a drink down in front of Yamato, who lifted it to his face and sniffed at the liquid. He didn’t look nearly as suspicious as he should, Iruka thought.

“What is it?”

“A drink.” Tsunade barked a laugh. Well, at least she was enjoying herself. Iruka was glad about that.

Until she turned to Izumo, Kotetsu, and Raidou.

"Now, who wants to do shots with me?"

Kotetsu and Izumo immediately hollered a yes. Raidou paled.

“Oh no”, Shizune whispered. Iruka couldn’t remember her shifting closer to his side but there she was. “I’d better get in there”.

She hopped out of her seat and raced to her mentor's side, speaking in a low voice with a frantic look on her face.

Turning away from the farcical scene playing out in front of him, Iruka scanned the rest of the bar. It was slightly quieter than when they first arrived.

Gen, two seats down, looked half asleep. The senbon in his mouth occasionally bouncing was the only thing that gave away that he was in fact still awake. Although, Iruka thought, he chewed those things so much he surely could have carried on while sleeping. Whatever the case, he didn’t believe Genma would appreciate being woken.

He turned back to the others, and it suddenly came to him. What it was that was different about Yamato. Whenever he had seen the man before he had been in uniform, with his khaki jacket and a headplate emblazoned with the insignia of their village. Only now he wore loose black clothing. His face went unframed and appeared broader because of it. A few tufts of brown hair were still apart from the rest, settled against his forehead.

Yamato stared back mutely as Iruka came to his realization. It was somewhat eerie. His large dark eyes bored into Iruka. He’d always figured Yamato was a little odd, but he had never said anything.

Eventually, feeling the need to break the silence, Iruka said; ‘It’s weird that we haven’t spoken more. Since we have a lot of mutual friends.’

“We do.” Yamato nodded slowly. “I mean, there’s Kakashi.”

“Our esteemed Lord Sixth.”

Yamato snickered at that, and the creepy aura was broken again. “Do you know where he is tonight?”

Iruka scrunched up his nose. “Shizune said something about Gai and a challenge.”

“That figures.”

Another little silence settled around them, a more companionable one. Iruka felt as though a warm blanket had been draped about his shoulders. That may have been the alcohol finally working its magic, though.

“So, are you still working with Kakashi, then?”, Iruka asked eventually. He was actually curious. He had seen very little of Yamati since the end of the war; not that he was a common sight about the village prior to it.

The other man shrugged. “In a way. He’s the Hokage, don’t we all work for him, now?”

“Huh. I guess so. It’s a weird thought, isn’t it? Forgive me if this is a little treasonous, but I never really saw him as being a great leader.”

“Well, he was a good leader during the war.” Iruka thought Yamato’s tone was slightly tinged with defensiveness. He had never been sure exactly how close Yamato and Kakashi were, or how they knew each other, but from what he had gathered from Naruto, Yamato was loyal to his former co-captain. And there it was, the one unavoidable topic: The recent war.

Iruka remembered that Kakashi commanded their forces. “You were there too, weren’t you?”

It seemed like a dumb question: Of course Yamato was there. But Iruka asked because he wanted to hear Yamato tell it.

It worked. Yamato sat up a little straighter and took a long sip of his drink before answering: “I was right there, besides Kakashi. Although I was also indisposed for a while. But I did see Madara and some of the Akatsuki.”

“You did?”

“I did.” Yamato looked more than a little proud. He’d earned it, Iruka figured.

“Woah.”

“Yeah.” There was a short pause. The conversation had been punctuated with them, the hallmark of an exchange between acquaintances, but this time the silence seemed to deepen, radiating out from where they sat. Iruka saw that the patrons of the bar had thinned even more around them; asides from their small group, there were merely a few others clinging to the bar itself or murmuring in the corners.

“You know”, Yamato began, and then stopped, struggling with his words. Iruka waited politely for him to finish. “It’s just, since the war, things haven’t quite felt the same. I’ve felt… Lost.” He brightened a bit. “That’s why I’m glad I have Kakashi and the team. Naruto and Sakura help, you know. That's what I wanted to say. You should be proud of them.”

Iruka stared at his hands for a long moment.

‘I know I said before that, Nauto and Sakura were the same when I was teaching them, but… It’s not true. Not really. They’ve grown. Both of them. And I’m sure you had something to do with that. So, thank you.’

When he finally looked up, Yamato was sitting back in his seat, eyes growing even wider, impossibly wide. His jaw worked and then his mouth opened slightly.

Whatever he was about to say never came out. Shizune slumped into the chair beside them with one arm under Tsunade’s shoulder, pulling her back down into her own seat.

From under the weight of her old mentor, Shizune huffed; “I think we’re going to get something to eat.” She blinked around expectantly. “Does anyone else want to come?”

“Maybe see if that ramen place is open”, muttered Tsunade. She slumped in towards the table, leaning her face on one hand and sighing. “I used to go there with Jiraiya sometimes.”

Shizune nudged her. “Sure, we can go there.”

Genma, rising out of seemingly nowhere, sat up and pulled his bandana back from where it had slipped down his forehead. “Food? I’m up for it.”

“I’ll be there”, Raidou agreed.

Iruka knew the place. His stomach rumbled at the thought of it. “I’ll join you guys, if that’s okay.”

“Of course.” Tsunade reached over to punch his shoulder and Iruka tried not to wince.

Shizune turned to the others. “Yamato?”

Again, before the man could speak, someone else cut in.

“I think Izumo and I might stick around and have a few more drinks”, Kotetsu yawned as he spoke. Iruka marvelled at how he could seemingly go from sober to drunk and back again so quickly.

Yamato nodded slowly and folded his hands on the table. “I might stay with you then. I wasn’t planning to stay out late, so I think I’ll finish this and then go home.” The skin about his large eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled, in a way that oddly reminded Iruka of Kakashi. “Thank you for this, by the way, Tsunade.”

Iruka heard Genma laugh to his right and mumble; “Good luck with that.”

He shot Genma a questioning look.

“Yamato’s a bit of a lightweight. Perhaps even more than Tsunade”, the jonin explained in an aside

Yamato fixed him with a stony glare, and that was the Yamato Iruka remembered. “I’m not that bad.”

“Give it a few minutes, he’ll be on the karaoke. Then again, Izumo and Kotetsu probably will be, too.”

Iruka laughed; he knew Izumo and Kotetsu would be, but he certainly didn’t expect Yamato to be that type of guy.

“You’re welcome to stick around and watch”, Yamato told Genma wryly.

“I’m good. Ramen is calling me.” Genma held his hands up for assistance in getting to his feet. Tsunade stood before anybody else could and grabbed his wrists, yanking him up forcibly.

Iruka and Shizune exchanged a look and swiftly stood before Tsunade could help them.

Raidou joined them as their small group began to move towards the door, Tsunade moving to lean against the tall serious man’s arm while they walked.

Iruka paused by the doorway to wave back at those still seated. Kotetsu was shuffling up to sit by Yamato, Izumo moving with him. Yamato was the only one watching them leave, and he waved a hand in farewell. Iruka echoed his gesture as their group rounded the corner into the biting cold.

The chill that gnawed through to Iruka's bones made him wish he had decided to stay in the warm low-lit bar, talking in low voices with Yamato about the war and watching Izumo and Kotetsu’s drunken antics. But he had already made his decision.

So instead he fell into step with Shizune and they walked together in the moonlight towards the bright yellow beams striking the snow from the window of Ichiraku’s in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

The only issue with allowing himself more free time, Iruka thought as he wandered about the village with his hands in his pockets one bright yet chilly afternoon, was finding things to fill it with.

Of course, as he grew older, he found that he didn’t need attention quite the way he had as a child. In truth he enjoyed the evenings spent meandering the streets alone, enjoying the sights and smells of the local open-air markets, watching the sun lower itself in the sky and the thick blanket of night that eventually drowned out the daily chatter following behind. The days were growing shorter once again, but all that meant to him was that he had less time to walk alone as the sun went down.

Like today, he sometimes felt a little lonely. Everybody needed company now and then. Perhaps that was why he sometimes trailed into Kakashi’s office, hoping to catch the Hokage on one of his frequent breaks so they could discuss their shared former pupils and the local gossip; not that Iruka was a gossiping man. Or perhaps it was the visitors to Kakashi’s office that drew him there: He was glad to count Shizune as a friend, and Gai was always entertaining. Often Naruto and Shikamaru would be hovering by the doors discussing the latest problem Kakashi had asked them to work on, and they were always glad when Iruka could offer some small wisdom.

That was where he most often got to see Naruto, in fact. He would frequently visit Naruto’s home, only to find the boy- now a man- he looked on as a son gone and the place empty. It simply became easier to visit him at work, if he couldn’t find him at Ichiraku's.

Naruto hadn’t been his only student, though. He liked catching up with Sakura over a cup of tea yet, as with Naruto, he rarely got the chance because of how busy a life she led. And, somehow, he didn’t think he would be as warmly welcomed if he was to wander into the hospital for a chat as he would be in the Hokage’s office. It was always nice to get into a deep conversation with Shikamaru or enjoy a cake with Chouji. There was also his new protegee, Shino, and Hinata had really been coming into her own lately. And visiting Kiba was always a good time; Iruka had grown fond of Tsume in a way, once they no longer had to conduct any frankly nerve-wracking parent-teacher meetings.

Now, though, he headed to the flower shop. On a whim, to celebrate the coming of spring some several months ago, he had bought a potted plant from a small market stall he passed by one weekend. He had been meaning to stop in and ask about them. He was no great horticulturalist, and he wasn’t sure whether he needed to do anything…Special for plants in the winter to keep them alive. Buy them a lamp, maybe? Or was that just for baby animals?

As he approached the glass-fronted façade, he hoped Ino would be there. It used to be that every time he walked in, she would be standing around, ready to pounce on the next customer. However, Ino couldn’t run the shop by herself entirely, as much as she might want to, and so Sai had started helping out occasionally. It had startled Iruka the first time he had seen the pale young man standing among a row of potted tulips. Iruka had tried to speak to him but Sai, for all that he had grown, wasn’t exactly a great conversationalist.

He was in luck: Ino stood at the counter to one side of the store, framed by a nice arrangement of flowers in all colors and varieties. She was speaking to a customer, so he merely nodded to her as he entered. She gave him a big smile.

The smell of pollen always overwhelmed him. He should have remembered that. Attempting to hide the way his eyes were watering, Iruka kept his head down and strolled down a random aisle. It didn’t look so awkward in here as it may have done outside: The flowers all sat at roughly hip-height in their plastic trays, heads hanging suspended in the still air.

Iruka continued past them. Just when he thought he was about to hit the back wall of the store and was going to have to turn around and come back, he found what he was seeking.

The shelves were lined with various plant-related accessories: lamps, fertilizer, those small shovels that he could never remember the name of.

He picked one of the little shovels up in his hand. It felt hefty and solid, but the blade was dull. Probably not much use if you were to throw it like a kunai, although if you struck someone with it…

Why was he thinking about weapons? The world was at peace now.

Giving himself a shake, Iruka put the tool back down and squinted at the label.

A trowel. That was the word for it.

“Trowel…”, he mused to himself, before standing upright and wiping at his eyes as his vision blurred. Damned pollen.

Turning back to the shelves, he perused the bags of fertilizer. There were so many different varieties, all promising different things. Would his plants prefer soil that provided all the necessary nutrients? Or soil that encouraged your flowers to flourish? He would have to ask Ino, when she was less busy. He could still hear her talking quietly to the customer.

He let his eyes meander over to the lamps while he waited. Some of them were large and expensive. Iruka guessed he would likely only need a small one. He only had a single plant, after all.

Iruka picked up the nearest lamp that didn’t resemble a six-foot spotlight and turned it over in his hands. As he did, his eyes began to leak once more, and he tried to wipe at them with his upper arm.

He heard Ino clear her throat. “Iruka-sensei? Can I help?”

The noise made him jump and fumble the lamp, almost dropping it. He carefully set it back down before turning to look over the rows of waist-high shelving at her, still wiping at his face.

His former student was watching him with an expression that could only have been labeled as concern. Her pale eyebrows sat halfway up her forehead while a small crease rested in between her eyes.

His gaze drifted to the customer, who was blinking wide-eyed under the fluorescent lights, and Iruka realized for the first time that it was Yamato standing there.

Iruka wasn’t entirely shocked he hadn’t noticed Yamato: Iruka didn’t know him that well, after all, and he seemed so different from the last time Iruka had seen him, several months before. The vest and headplate were back on, though, rendering him unmistakable for anyone else. Instead of the change in outfit making him look more serious, however, Yamato appeared more jovial, cheeks filled with a healthy blush, and a calm smile touching his lips. It was an eerie contrast.

Caught unawares, Iruka stammered; “I- I just wanted a light.” He swept one hand at the row he had picked the lights up from. “To help my plants stay warm.”

When he looked back at them, he saw Ino’s mouth twitching. With a light titter, she asked; “Iruka-sensei, are you aware that you were holding a garden ornament?”

To hide the flush spreading quickly across his cheeks- although, really, what was the point trying to hide from such skilled shinobi as those two?- Iruka looked back down at the lamps and pretended to be inspecting them. “Ah. Oh, yes. I was just looking at them. For my garden.”

“Okay.” From the clear amusement in Ino’s voice, even from that one word, his paper-thin story was practically transparent.

Iruka finally felt it was safe to look back up. His eyes had stopped watering, fortunately, but his nose had betrayed him and was beginning to run. He wiped at it discreetly as he approached the desk. “So, what are you doing here, Yamato?”

Having spoken, he realized how rude he sounded, and winced a little.

Yamato didn’t seem to take offense, however; he appeared even calmer than that distant night they went out drinking, barely blinking at all as he regarded Iruka levelly.

“I stop by to speak to Ino sometimes, about her plants and how best to take care of them. It just… It comes naturally to me, I guess. It makes sense. I have wood-style after all.”

Iruka scratched at his head. He had heard that before: He should have remembered. “Oh, yeah.”

With a gleeful grin, Ino put both hands on the desk and leaned forwards. “Yamato really does help me a lot. Ever since my father… Well, he has a way with plants, as he says!”

Now Yamato was the one who looked embarrassed; still not as oddly skittish as Iruka had seen him before, instead capable of calmly gathering his things- a bag of fertilizer and a few small bottles- and walking out of the door with a smile and a goodbye.

“I didn’t know you knew Yamato”, said Ino.

Iruka jolted and looked back at her. She was staring down at her hands while she poured water from a small jug into one of the pots on the counter, but he caught her speculative glance in his direction. He didn’t say anything. What was there to be said?

She shrugged and continued. “Makes sense, though.”

For a moment Iruka was confused as to what way it made sense. He and Yamato had little in common: Chunin and jonin, schoolteacher and former war hero. Then he realized she most likely meant because of the overlap in their social circles.

He shrugged back at her.

From somewhere under the counter Ino produced some scarily large shears and began to prune the small shrub she had been watering. She spoke as she did so.

“Yamato’s been coming in here more since Sai started working here. I mainly think he’s bored and kind of lonely. But he does know a lot about plants, so I don’t mind very much.” She paused to clear some of the snipped branches into a bag before continuing. “He’s started talking more about his past lately, is what makes me think he’s lonely. More to Sai, and Sakura when she comes in, but to me as well sometimes.”

“His past?”

“Yes. Old missions, things like that.” She spoke lightly, but even as she kept her head down and her cutting steady and constant Iruka could tell she felt troubled.

Oh, he could more than imagine the things Yamato spoke about. He had lived through similar things, and so had Ino, he was sure. He wiped at his eyes again.

Ino cleared her throat and put down the shears. “Anyway, what can I do for you today, Iruka-sensei? You aren’t really here just to buy some garden ornaments, are you?”

Iruka smiled at how concerned her voice grew at that last part. “Ah. Well, I’ve got these plants…”

She tilted her head and fixed him with a piercing stare. “What kind?”

He returned his former student’s gaze blankly. “…Green.”

“Sensei…” Ino shook her head and exhaled, then smacked his wrist lightly. “Go get them and bring them to me.”

A few years ago, she would never have dared speak to him like that, Iruka thought as he complied and headed for his house. Although looking back, perhaps she would have. Ino was always speaking her mind. Maybe he was simply looking at the past the way he wanted to remember it.

And he’d have been shocked if, in a place with a history like Konoha’s, he was the only one.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura’s new house- her very own place, for the first time- was small and clean. Iruka had been over once before, when she first moved in a few months ago. Not since then.

“Iruka-sensei!”, she greeted him at the door, leaning forward to draw him into a hug.

“It’s been too long”, he told her as he pulled back. And it had. The last time they had seen each other was the wedding, and then only briefly. Sakura had seemed to have her mind on other things for much of the celebration, a far-off look in her green eyes, even despite the clear joy on her face at seeing her old friends happy.

“It has”, she echoed his thoughts with a laugh, and it was deeper than the small titters he remembered hearing from the row of the classroom where she and Ino used to sit, but still chiming with the same mirth. Whatever was troubling her before didn’t seem to reach her now. “Come in, please, come in.”

She stepped aside from the door and waited patiently as he removed his shoes before leading him down a twisting, wooden-floored corridor to a small cream room.

To his surprise, they were not alone. Both Sai and Yamato were already perched at the table, a teacup in front of each. A third cup signified Sakura’s place at the gathering. Iruka took a seat opposite her, beside Sai, waving a little stiltedly at the other men.

“What kind of tea would you like?” Sakura bustled past and straight through into the kitchen, sticking her head back around the doorway to continue speaking.

She had changed a lot, Iruka thought: Before she would freeze up whenever disciplined for speaking out of turn in class. Now she never stopped moving, never seemed to sit still for a moment. He had seen her as he left for work in the morning, walking back from working overnight at the hospital, exhausted and yet still moving forwards.

She was still waiting.

Iruka asked; “What do you have?”

“Oh, a bit of everything. Black, jasmine, mint…”

“I’ll just have black, if that’s alright.”

“Of course!” Her head disappeared again and Iruka heard the clattering of metal rising from the kitchen.

He turned towards the other guests.

Sai was holding his cup in between his hands, cradling it almost gently as he took a sip. His dark heavily lidded eyes stared down at the table before them.

Yamato was watching Iruka expectantly. As Iruka met his gaze, he gave a timid smile.

“It’s been a little while, hm?”

Iruka tried to remember the last time he saw Yamato. “I think I saw you at the wedding. Only… I don’t remember seeing you much. Just before the ceremony.”

“I had to leave before the festivities could really begin, unfortunately. I had a mission.”

“You didn’t miss much.”

“Except for Kakashi getting drunk and pulling his mask off to give a speech”, said Sai.

Iruka laughed against his hand. That had been quite funny. Especially seeing some of the reactions. “Yeah, Naruto and Sakura were trying to wrestle Lee away from the drinks at the time. Supposedly somebody slipped up and gave him alcohol.” He privately suspected that it was Tenten, from the way she was snickering, but he didn’t know her well enough to form a judgement. She had never been his student, after all. “They were both so upset to have missed it.”

Smiling gently, Yamato nodded. “Oh, yes, they both complained to me about that afterwards.” He tilted his head, looking between the other two men. “What else happened?”

“Hinata cried and Ino actually got mad at Naruto for making Hinata cry, even though she was crying because she was happy to be getting married to him, and Naruto was crying too.”

Sai interjected; “She had had a few drinks herself, though. She was just emotional.”

Sakura reappeared with a tray and moved forward to sit on the sole remaining empty chair. She placed the cups in front of each of them with a delicate clinking noise and then wiped at her brow with the back of her hand before casting a sunny look at her old teammate. “Not as emotional as Chouji: He couldn’t stop crying.”

“In between stuffing his face at the buffet.”

Iruka snickered. “I think I even saw Konohamaru crying towards the end of the night.”

He stopped when he glanced towards Yamato. His face was downcast, staring between the empty cup which he had drained before Iruka's arrival, and the steaming one Sakura had just given to him.

Iruka was about to probe him as to what was wrong, hesitating as he wondered how best to approach the subject, when Yamato murmured; “It must have been emotional for you as well, Iruka? I saw you took on the role of Naruto’s father.”

Iruka clasped his hands together around his mug, even though it was just a few degrees below scalding hot, and smiled a private smile down at the tendrils of heat curling up from the rim.

“It was. Emotional.” He looked across the table. “Speaking of weddings, Sai… Congratulations.”

Sai gave a small, modest smile, his eyes half-closing. Iruka was reminded, as he sometimes was during conversation with Sai, of a cat that had just finished eating a pot of cream.

“Thank you.”

The Interrogation division’s newest recruit’s proposal to the young Yamanaka had been the talk of the village for the last two weeks. In particular, the fact that it had been accepted.

“Obviously I knew it was coming. I mean, did you see them together at my wedding?”, Naruto had told Iruka at dinner the other day, as they discussed the topic. But he did look slightly baffled.

Hinata had given Iruka a slight shake of her head, her lips twitching.

In any case, Iruka himself believed that the two of them would make a good couple. Naruto had been right about Sai: Once Iruka had gotten to know him a bit better, he had really warmed up to him. And his attitude, laid-back yet strangely intense, would match well to Ino’s peppy brashness.

“Things are changing so q”uickly, Sakura sighed. She put one hand against her cheek, smiling at Sai as she chased a spoon around her teacup with the fingers of the other. “I can’t believe you and Ino are getting married.”

He responded in a monotone that had just enough of a hint at inflection that Iruka could have mistaken it for a genuine question; “Are you jealous?”

His teammate just laughed, the sound as bright as her eyes. “Maybe not about the wedding, but in a strange way, I am. I feel like I’m missing out on something.”

Sai raised an eyebrow at her. Yamato rolled his broad shoulders.

Sakura looked back and forth between the two of them and shook her head with a small chuckle.

For a moment, Iruka felt the same emptiness Sakura had been describing. His own life was very much stationary. As much as he loved his students, seeing them grow into their own lives and forming families, sometimes he wished he had more than his work. Not necessarily a lover or a family, but… Something more. He remembered his old team, how they used to be so close they could hold silent conversations like that. Nowadays they barely spoke for longer than ten minutes at a time. Nowadays he didn’t feel that close to anybody.

He swiftly shook that notion away. He had Naruto and Hinata, he had Sakura and Shino and the others. They were all his family. It wasn’t quite the same as having a team, that unshakeable bond of having grown up together but even if they hadn’t been part of his formative years, he had been a part of theirs. Iruka owed it to his children to see them into adulthood, to remain a stable fixture in their lives. Wasn’t that the job of a teacher?

Something briefly touched his ankle under the table. Yamato’s large eyes blinked at him, and then withdrew.

Sakura was speaking. “… It’s just… I’ve been thinking about leaving the village. Temporarily, of course. I wouldn’t stay away for long. I want to take a break. See the world. I keep thinking back to when I was twelve, and we- well, Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi and I, the old team- went to the Land of Waves. There were so many people there who needed our help. There must be other places like that, other people who need someone to help them. Wonders to see.”

Iruka sat up straighter. That kind of talk was alarming. What if Sakura did just… Leave? Take flight? He could still recall all of the years Tsunade was away. If Sakura was anything like her mentor…

Still, Sakura would return, even if she left. Just like Tsunade. He had faith in that. That didn’t make it a good idea, though.

He bit his tongue.

“Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea”, said Sai.

They all looked at him.

“Sai!”, Yamato choked out.

The pale man shrugged. “I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t think you should go. But it is your choice. You’re free to make your own mistakes.”

“Wow”, Sakura shook her head. “Way to give a girl confidence, Sai.”

“Just remember that Ino would murder you if you missed our wedding”, he replied, smiling happily.

The young woman glanced about the table. “What do you think, Yamato?”

Yamato blustered a little, eyes darting about the room, before admitting; "I also don't think it is a very good idea. However, I do think that, if you want to travel and experience the world, you should, while we are at peace and you're able to do so. Even if you end up making mistakes... At least you'll never be wondering, what if?"

Iruka smiled at that. He’d had some… Not so much regrets, but more things he wished he’d done. Paths he wished he had taken sooner.

"I agree", he echoed Yamato's sentiments, "that if this is what you want to do, then you should go for it. Just... Don't forget us. Don't forget that this is your home."

Sakura stared at them all for a moment, teacup hovering halfway between the table and her mouth, and then put it down, patted her legs, and laughed. “Well, I was just being hypothetical, anyway. I know the people here need me.”

Iruka thought, though, that she was deadly serious. She lifted her cup again, taking a sip, and he caught a flash of guilt in her lowered gaze. His heart ached. _Oh, no. Don’t feel guilty for wanting something._

Diagonally across the table, he saw Yamato was also watching Sakura with a stormy expression. Glancing up, he met Iruka’s gaze, and the teacher could see his own worry etched on Yamato’s face.

Sakura seemed to notice, because she changed the topic, turning to Iruka; "Anyway, how are things going at the school?"

"It’s going well. Shino is still reluctant to commit to teaching full-time." That got a small chuckle from both Sakura and Sai. "But the kids are great. They’re- happy", he stuttered, marvelling at the thought. "So happy."

Yamato put his own cup down. "And I expect that soon there will be more happy children running around."

It took Iruka a moment to realize what he meant. When he did, he blinked from Sakura to Sai in astonishment.

That was right: The kids were growing up. Soon they too would be thinking about having children of their own.

And, oh, that was a terrifying thought.


	4. Chapter 4

“So.” Iruka laced his fingers together. “How did he do?”

Shino ducked back inside his collar like a turtle. Iruka couldn’t see his eyes but if he could he thought they would be wide in fear. Anko slapped a hand on his back, making the young man jump.

“He did great”, she announced cheerily, “I’m proud. Apparently we make great teachers of teaching.”

Iruka raised an eyebrow, looking towards Shino. “Is that so?”

Anko nodded. “He’s good. But still too quiet, and not strict enough.”

The trainee lowered his head modestly, shuffling his feet. He probably wasn’t used to the vast emptiness of the classroom this early, before the children had all arrived. It had taken Iruka a while to get used to it, himself, but now the echoing of his own tapping and the scratching of pen on paper, combined with the weak dawn light cutting through the windows in ribbons, calmed him in a way.

He looked Shino over. He stood awkward and silent. Iruka wondered if he had been the same as a trainee; although, of course, training had been different back then.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey! Anybody want to go for drinks on Friday?"

Ebisu's head poked around the corner and, inch by inch, his entire body, dressed all in black, came into view.

"Ebisu, we're having a meeting", Iruka scolded, frowning at the interruption.

“Oh, stuff the meeting”, scoffed Anko, “Shino is doing fine, and you know it.”

“Actually, Anko”, Shino spoke up, voice low and monotone, “I would appreciate any advice you could-”

“Great! We’ll be heading to Kyuubi no Kitsune. You know, the new bar?”, said Ebisu.

Iruka thought that he knew it: With a name like that, it was hard to miss it, after all. It was not far from where Sakura’s house was. The one now standing empty and unused.

Anko looked back and forth between the others. “Are we celebrating something? You know, besides Shino’s natural talent for teaching?”

Shino opened his mouth: “I-”

“Not really.” Ebisu shrugged. “Genma and Gai and I just decided to go out for a few drinks. We still get together sometimes, with Choza, usually for a meal.”

Of course they did. Spreading his hands in front of him, Iruka began; “Well, we don’t really want to crash your squad reunion…”

Ebisu laughed a short, sharp laugh. “You wouldn’t be crashing anything, trust me. Genma is inviting Kurenai and Raidou, and Gai said he would bring a couple of people, so it could be a fun evening.”

Anko sighed and leaned back on one of the desks. “I’m up for that. I haven’t been out anywhere with Genma since that one time with the shuriken. Gods, that was a few years back.”

A silent collective agreement was made by everyone else in the room not to ask.

“I’ll go”, a quiet voice said out of nowhere, and Iruka started; both because he’d momentarily forgotten that Shino was still standing in the corner, and because it was always a shock to him to be reminded that the kids, his kids, were old enough to drink now, even though many of them were having kids themselves.

“What about you, boss?”, Anko asked, leaning forward. He could hear the light teasing in the final word but deigned to ignore it.

Iruka deliberated. For one, drinking with Shino would be strange. Still, it couldn’t be stranger than he, Naruto, and Shikamaru drinking together at Chouji’s wedding a few months before. Iruka didn’t think it could get any weirder than that. So maybe he should go. He liked Gai, and never got to see him enough. Then he thought of all the paperwork.

“I shouldn’t…”

“Oh, come on”, wheedled Ebiau. “Just for a little while?”

Shino was giving him what he thought was a pleading look. Laying his palms flat on his desk Iruka sighed, relenting.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

Anko shot him a smile that reminded him of when they were both children, a genuine smile devoid of her usual playfulness. “We’ll have fun. You’ll see.”

Iruka wondered why he still didn’t have much faith in her assurance.

*

Time waited for no man, and even less so for Anko; if anything, it seemed to speed up to her will. The more she talked about Friday evening, the closer it seemed to draw. Iruka knew it would only be minutes before she appeared in his classroom. He stared down at the page in front of him as he jotted notes, frantically trying to finish his lesson plans for next week: If he got them out of the way he wouldn't have to spend his weekend worrying about them. He didn't exactly have time in the week to do it, between keeping an eye on the kids and marking work and meetings with parents and teachers alike.

He had just managed to get to his third class on Friday when the easily recognizable and immediately ominous footsteps of Anko drew closer in the hallway, shadowed by Shino's dragging, timid gait.

“Come on Iruka”, Anko announced as her indomitable figure appeared in the doorway, “we’re going.”

“Ah, okay.” He ducked his head back down towards the desk, hoping they may leave without him. “I just need ten more minutes. I’m not finished with the lesson plans.”

‘Just tell them you’re giving a demonstration and then make some shit up”, she told him. “That’s what I do when I forget to plan.”

Iruka paused in his scribbling to raise his eyebrows at her.

“What? It doesn’t happen often.”

Shino gave his head a small shake in the doorway behind her, just a slow left to right and center again movement.

Iruka sighed and arranged his papers on his desk. He would just have to return- probably Saturday morning if he wasn't too hungover- to finish them.

Anko let out an excited whoop and all but pushed him out the door.

*

They were the last to arrive at the bar. Genma, Raidou, and Kurenai were sitting at one table, looking at a photo Kurenai held, of Mirai. Anko immediately pushed away from the rest of the group to join them; most likely to share stories of the little girl who had become one of her favorite students.

Iruka and Shino made eye contact and, as if by unanimous vote, turned to sit at the next table along, with Gai, Ebisu, and two men who had their backs to them.

“Hello, my esteemed colleagues.” Ebisu waved one hand. Iruka nodded, attempting to dodge the wave of alcohol-tainted breath that floated in his way as he dragged a chair over.

Shino pulled another chair over to sit opposite Iruka, and Iruka looked slightly to his left, his mouth falling agape when he spotted the faces of the two men. One was Aoba: A man he knew vaguely from around the village and a few missions together when they were younger. And the other was Yamato.

Yamato’s face was familiar enough to him now, although they also didn’t see each other often. Iruka had caught glimpses of him about the village and in Kakashi’s office, but that was about it.

Leaning in as though he were about to share a secret, his cheeks bright red, Gai muttered; “I brought Aoba and Yamato because they’re part of the Boat Squad.”

Staring back at the bowl-cut sporting man, Iruka realized three things: That Gai, like Ebisu, was already drunk; that he had seen Iruka staring at the two of them, for Gai may have been silly but he wasn’t stupid and he would have noticed that; and that the ‘Boat Squad’ was an inside joke that he would not know.

“Have you met Aoba?”, Gai pressed on, still eyeing Iruka as he gestured to the man with the spiked hair and dark glasses.

Aoba nodded so vigorously his glasses slipped askew on his face, revealing a glimpse of beady eyes. “Sup.”

Iruka nodded in return, less dramatically.

“And this is Yamato.”

“We’ve met”, Iruka told Gai.

“Oh, really?” Ebisu tightened his bandana. “When?”

“We’ve met a few times, actually”, Yamato said with a small chuckle, meeting Iruka’s gaze with pitch-black eyes. He didn't seem so intoxicated as the others at the table.

Iruka racked his brains for the last time they had spoken and eventually remembered: In Sakura’s house, about a year before.

“Well, Kakashi had already told me that before, of course”, Gai responded, grinning. He leaned over to mutter something to Ebisu, who rolled his eyes. Iruka elected to ignore them: He had learned that was likely the best option when Gai started talking.

His gaze drifted about the table, only for him to realize that Yamato was looking at him, his hands folded neatly on the table in front of himself. Iruka quirked an eyebrow.

“I think the last time I saw you was before Sakura went traveling”, the man said.

“Hm.”

“You’re not happy about it, are you?”

Iruka sighed. “I’m happy for her. Of course, I wish she were still here, but I understand that at some point you have to let them go.” He hesitated, feeling that he was speaking too much from a parental perspective. “I’m glad she’s with Sasuke, though.”

“Really?” Yamato drained the last of his glass. “I would have thought it would’ve been the opposite.”

He had largely avoided this topic since the beginning of the war. But here was Yamato, who likely knew as much if not more than he did. So he said; “I heard about what he became. I saw it, too. But I think deep down he’s still just the boy who misses his family. And maybe being with Sakura can provide some semblance of what he lost.”

“I think that’s an optimistic take on that relationship. But then, I don’t really get that kind of thing. My work never allowed for it.” Yamato glanced about. “Speaking of which, I need to go soon. I have to work in the morning.”

“What is it that you do, exactly?”, Iruka took the opportunity to ask. He had been curious since their last meeting, especially since Kakashi had always been guarded with not revealing the missions he had Yamato doing.

“Whatever Kakashi asks of me.” He spread his hands wide in a shrugging gesture, and then gave a chuckle- an unnatural, stilted sound. “No, the easy answer is that I do what needs to be done to protect the village.”

That was a rather vague answer, Iruka thought. He watched unhappily as Yamato stood. The way he was standing was unnatural, too: Half-stooping in on himself, not looking in Iruka's direction, his hands tucked into his vest.

Across the table, Gai raised his thick eyebrows. “You’re leaving already?” His voice boomed across the entire room like a crack of thunder, and several people at other tables turned in their direction.

“I’m tired.” Yamato threw him a tiny, apologetic smile. “Sorry, Gai.”

From where he was half-slumped on the table, Aoba heckled; “Boo. Boo.”

Yamato shook his head. “I’ll see you next time.”

He waved as he left, and Iruka’s head was filled with thoughts on how Yamato always seemed to be leaving as he was arriving; how they never shared a space for long; how the nature of their way of life was that nothing lasted for very long, except maybe the will of fire.

He took a long gulp from his drink and let his head droop towards the table. He hadn’t been here very long at all, and he already felt drunk.

Somebody taking the empty seat Yamato had recently vacated had him glancing up to see Shino’s shadowed face, blank as ever. He must have escaped from Ebisu and Gai’s conversation.

“Shino?”, he asked, as the boy- no, man- continued to look down at him. He raised his head and attempted to appear composed.

“I wanted to ask you something”, Shino said slowly.

Iruka rubbed one hand over his forehead. “Fire away.”

“Are parent-teacher evenings always so… Daunting? I went to one with Anko, and well…”

Iruka nursed his drink and thought it over. Remembered the evening he hid in his office listening to Inoichi, Choza, and Shikaku, all formidable clan heads, chatting as they waited to be called in; all of the times Hiashi Hyuuga stared straight through him, occasionally literally, as he spoke; and, of course, the unforgettable incident where Tsume ended up vaulting the table between them. But then there was the time Hinata had shyly smiled and told him he was her favorite teacher before following her father away; the times Sakura’s parents had marvelled at his every word as they had little experience of the shinobi world; the one year Naruto had marched in, all by himself, demanding that Iruka give him a parent’s evening because off of the other kids got one, and how they had gone for ramen after Iruka was done with everyone else.

After a beat, he told Shino; “Yeah, you have good and bad ones.”

Shino dipped his head, as though that was the answer he had been expecting.

The drinks continued to come. Iruka watched Shino’s glass with interest, as the alcohol there seemed to be disappearing at a rate far slower than his own. At least Shino was responsible, he supposed. He shouldn’t have worried about him. And it wasn’t entirely Iruka’s fault that he was getting even drunker; Gai was very liberal in buying drinks for all of his friends.

Iruka found himself in Shino’s place, drawn into conversation with Ebisu and Aoba. It was a bit of an unsettling feeling: It was weird talking with two people whose eyes he was unable to see. Especially when he could see his own ruddy face reflected back at himself in their glasses.

“I heard you asking about Yamato’s role earlier”, Aoba said as he leaned in towards Iruka. He was holding tight to his glass with one hand and there was alcohol on his breath; even in his addled state Iruka knew that, when it came to Aoba, that was a bad sign. He was known among the chunin and jonin alike for being a loudmouth, especially after a few drinks.

Iruka froze.

“I was just curious. Kakashi is always sending him to do things; he clearly trusts Yamato a lot.”

“Those two practically grew up in the Anbu together.” Aoba waved his nearly-empty glass. “He’s one of Kakashi’s most loyal and highest-ranking operatives now. I heard Kakashi sends him to assassinate people.”

“Hey! That’s not true!”

Iruka hadn’t even noticed Gai was listening to their conversation; neither had Aoba, it seemed, for he immediately looked embarrassed.

“He can use Mokuton, though”, Ebisu said musingly. “Only the First could do that. He’s powerful enough to be an assassin.”

“Kakashi doesn’t use Yamato as an assassin!”, Gai huffed. He appeared genuinely upset about the assumption, which was odd. Iruka had never thought Gai and Yamato were close; although he supposed, if Gai had invited him that evening, they must have at least been friends. Perhaps it was that Boat Squad thing, whatever that was.

Aoba snorted. “He uses him for something.”

Iruka wasn't sure whether he believed it. Yamato just seemed nice. Too nice to be an assassin. But then he knew that how nice somebody was definitely did not preclude them from being a soldier, a murderer. Even so, it didn't sit right with him. Yamato could be a little odd and creepy at times, sure, but that was before… Well, getting to know him a bit.

Gai leaned into Iruka’s space, on the other side from where Aoba was still doing much the same, and he felt trapped. “While it is true that Yamato is a highly capable and trustworthy young man, he doesn’t go on many serious missions anymore. Mostly because there really aren’t as many as there were before the last war. Now we have no need of assassins: The villages are truly united in peace.”

Iruka eyed him suspiciously. He wasn’t sure that true peace was something he really believed was possible.

“So what does Yamato do then?”, he asked.

Gai blustered for a moment before relaxing back in his wheelchair. "He serves as a guard. For dangerous criminals. War prisoners and the like."

Iruka settled back. Huh. War prisoners. He racked his brains for anybody he could think of who was taken prisoner; most of the aggressors in the last war were killed. Perhaps there were some low-level henchmen that they had captured who Yamato was watching. He has the feeling he’s forgetting someone, though. Someone impor-

He jerked around at the sound of a commotion and Shino’s pleading voice.

"Anko. Anko, please get off of the bar."

Rocketing to his feet, Iruka pivoted to find his colleagues; one attempting to climb on top of the bar, holding her skirt down with one hand, while the other tried to reason with her. Everyone else in the bar seemed to act as if this was a normal occurrence: Genma was asleep, his head nestled in his arms, and strands of hair falling across his face. Gai had rejoined Raidou and Kurenai to reminisce- loudly- about old times. Ebisu and Aoba were deep in debate about something.

He dashed over to help Shino, waving an apologetic hand to the bartender. Anko wailed like a banshee as he pulled her down, only to then sag in his arms. He hadn't been expecting that; he half-dropped, half-set her on the floor, and he and Shino swapped panicked looks before squatting and attempting to rouse her.

Once they realized what was happening Gai and Kurenai came over to help. Although, Gai's 'help' largely consisted of chattering about his rival and what a great job he was doing as a leader, which of course was a testament to Gai's own strength and amazing abilities that his rival was so wonderful.

They managed to get Anko back on her feet, supported between Iruka and Kurenai.

"I can walk", she muttered in protest, her breath coming warm against Iruka's cheek. "Let go of me."

“I’ll get her home”, Kurenai said with a nod. “I need to get back anyway, Konohamaru and his friends are babysitting Mirai.”

“I’ll come with you part of the way if that’s alright”, Iruka sighed. “I’ve got lessons to plan so I should go before my future hangover gets any worse.”

The three of them staggered away down the lanes among houses. After dropping his colleague off, Iruka made the short detour with Kurenai past her house, the two of them occasionally exchanging words about their mutual friends. It was early morning by the time they made it there.

Once she had closed the door behind her, Iruka stood in the doorway to Kurenai’s house, looking at the dawn creeping up on the sky. He stared left in the direction of his own home, and then right towards the school, and then decided to head left. The lesson plans could wait for a while. Taking care of himself was more important. And going to sleep running through memories of an entertaining evening was sure to guarantee him pleasant dreams.

Only, instead, he found himself sinking into nightmares, ones where Yamato, already at work, stood against the dawn that had stretched overhead. And stretching out before his feet was a pit, and it was filled with snakes.


	5. Chapter 5

"You’re having a dinner party?", Iruka asked. " _You’re_ having a dinner party?"

"I know", Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. If his movements had been impaired at all by the loss and replacement of his arm, it wasn’t obvious; the gesture was as fluid and familiar as when he had been a boy. "Don’t worry, Hinata was in charge of all the planning. I just did what she asked me to do."

"I don’t know... I was hoping for a little peace and quiet on my day off."

"Don’t worry about that! There’re not many people coming! Just close friends and family! We… Have some news we wanted to tell everyone."

Iruka squinted at him thoughtfully. Was Kakashi planning to make Naruto the Hokage already? He had known- the entire village had known- for a long time that it was what was intended, yet now still felt too soon. No, it had to be something else. "What sort of news?"

"Oh, it’s nothing important, really…" A faint shade of red crept up Naruto’s neck.

"Then why don’t you tell me here, if it’s not that important?" He folded his arms.

"I…"

Iruka leaned forward, grinning, and patted his son’s shoulder. "Naruto, relax. I’ll come to your dinner party if you really want me to."

Naruto immediately did as Iruka instructed, letting his body go limp and slouching forward on the bench where they sat. "Thank you. It’ll be great, and I really want you to be there."

Iruka crossed his arms once more. "Hinata is pregnant again, isn’t she?"

Naruto’s mouth and eyes shot wide open and then closed again. He lowered his head. "Yeah." Glancing back up at his father, he admitted; "You’re the first to know. I was sort of hoping you would guess. I didn’t tell anyone else there was news, just told them they had to come."

Iruka smiled as gently as he can manage under all of his sudden bubbling excitement. "I’m so happy for you. You both are already doing so well with little Boruto."

"Yeah, well, a few more years of no sleep will be worth it in the end, won’t it?"

"I didn’t have to deal with that, but I’m sure it will be worth it."

“You could make up for it now.” Naruto’s eyes sparkled. “I know Hinata has been staying at home with Boruto but there are some nights we could use a babysitter. And I’m sure some of the others would appreciate your services too.”

Iruka scrunched up his nose. He did love Boruto, and had done his best to help out when the toddler was just a new-born, but two mini-Narutos running around… "Maybe. I’d have to see if I could get the time off."

"Great! I’ll hold you to it." Naruto’s grin evaporated, and he hugged Iruka close. "Thanks, dad. It’s not as scary as it was the first time, but… I’m glad you think I did a good job. All I want is for Hinata and the kids and everyone else I care about to be safe and happy. I wish… I wish my parents could see it. Could see them."

Iruka drew away. He took Naruto’s hand instead, patting it with each of his own. "I’m sure they know", he told Naruto solemnly, and watched as Naruto let the teardrops in his eyes begin to work their way down his cheeks. "This world is a better place now."

*

Naruto had lied to him.

Not only were all of Naruto’s friends, his former students, all crammed into the small dining room together, but so were a few faces around the same age that he never taught personally but still recognized: Sai, Rock Lee, Tenten, Temari, Hanabi, Konohamaru. They dominated the majority of the room.

The table nearest to him housed those closer to his age range: Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and…

“Dad”, Naruto greeted, almost tripping over a chair as he rushed to Iruka's side, “there’s a seat for you opposite- oh, I don’t know if you guys have met- Yamato.”

Iruka locked eyes with the brown-haired man next to Kakashi. After a moment’s silence, they simultaneously broke into laughter.

Naruto looked between them in confusion.

"Are you stalking me?", Yamato asked. His eyes were narrowed but Iruka could see the faint twitch of his lips, threatening a smile.

"We keep running into each other without intending to", he explained to Naruto. "Or, rather, people keep trying to introduce us."

Naruto gave Iruka a weird, almost nervous, smile, and then headed back to sit in between Hinata and Shikamaru.

As Iruka sat down, Kakashi waved and said; “Yo.” Kurenai gave him an appreciative smile.

Settling down at the table, he felt something brush his leg and nearly jumped out of his skin before peering under the tablecloth- fancy, Hinata had really gone all out- and finding Boruto’s small blond head. He gave a toothy smile upon being discovered.

“Hey”, Iruka said as he scooped the toddler up onto his lap “Did your mommy and daddy let you stay for dinner?”

Boruto wriggled minutely for a moment before caving in and settling against Iruka’s stomach.

“Gai is babysitting the other little brats. Naruto said it was an adult only sort of thing.” Kakashi shrugged an exaggerated shrug, raising both hands in the air with the palm up. The Hokage put his hands down, leaned in conspiratorially, and waggled his eyebrows. “I guess Naruto and Hinata wanted for him to hear the news. Since it affects him as well.”

Ah. So he must have figured it out, too.

Kurenai, reaching for a bottle of wine at the center of the table, added; “Mirai is with them too. She’s Gai’s ‘assistant’ for the evening.”

Iruka snickered at the mental image of little Mirai trying to round up the other tots as Gai yelled in the background, bustling about in his chair.

“She’s so serious, Kurenai”, Kakashi said almost accusatorially.

“No idea where she gets that from”, Kurenai shrugged. “Certainly not me.” She sighed. “You’re right, though. She is a funny little one. Already prepared to take on the whole world alone.”

Tsunade leaned over. “Here, Kurenai, have another drink.”

Kurenai’s head perked up. “Thank you, I will.”

“And for me, too”, Kakashi added, holding his glass out. Tsunade threw him an incredulous look, and creases formed about his eyes.

“If you wanted me to be pouring your drinks for you, Tsunade, you should have kept the hat.”

“You little shit.”

Kakashi widened his eyes and pointed at Boruto, still on Iruka’s lap, dramatically miming a shushing motion.

“Yeah, whatever.” Tsunade turned to Iruka. “How about you? Want a drink?”

“No, thank you.” Iruka raised one hand, hoping his small chuckle would seem polite rather than nervous. “I’ll stick to water.”

“You’re not having one?”, Yamato asked.

“No. I figure after their announcement they’ll probably break out more alcohol for a toast or something. I’ll save myself until then."

Yamato shook his head at Tsunade when she offered him the bottle. “I think I’ll do the same”, he said with a weary smile.

"To each their own." The former Hokage shrugged, topping up her own glass for good measure.

Iruka looked around at everyone at the other tables and all of a sudden he was stuck inside his own memory. Shikamaru and Ino were bickering over something while Chouji laughed at them. Sakura was sitting with Naruto, seemingly annoyed as he tried to talk across the table to her with a full mouth. Hinata, sitting by his side, hid a smile behind one hand. Kiba looked disgusted at something Shino was showing him under the table; a bug, knowing him.

He blinked, and the illusion was broken. There were new faces among them: Sai and Temari snickered alongside Chouji, Karui chatted with Tenten and Rock Lee, Tamaki looking slightly horrified as she leans over Kiba’s shoulder.

“They haven’t changed much, have they?”, Yamato asked in a low tone, sucking Iruka further from his memories.

“Actually…” Iruka scratched at his nose. “I was just thinking about how much they have changed.”

Yamato stared at him without further comment.

"I get what you mean, though", he continued. The village was being run by children who grew up with war, the same as it had always been. But this generation here, they were different. "They've been through a lot, and they've learned to cope with it." He stroked Boruto's head with one hand. "These ones won't have to face the same traumas."

Not a word came from Yamato. His eyes were wide. Iruka wasn't sure why, but he kept talking. Likely because he knew that, whatever he said, it would be a while before he saw Yamato again; if he even did. “I tried so hard with Naruto and the others.” His eyes darted over to Kakashi and he dropped his voice slightly, even though he was sure Kakashi would still be able to hear. “I tried to keep them safe, but I wasn’t very good at it. Once they graduated… They were out of my hands.”

“At least you tried”, Yamato whispered finally, his voice hoarse. “Looking back… I perhaps could have been a little easier on them. I didn’t really know how to be a role model to children. I didn’t know any different. Not like you.”

A small bubble seemed to have folded in around them, enclosing the two of them away from the rest of the room.

"Well, we had different lives", Iruka said. "I lost my parents when I was young, and I was so alone. And I just… I never wanted another kid to feel alone like that. Naruto was so easy to get close to." Not like Sasuke, he thought but didn't say. He had watched over that boy as with all of his students, but he couldn’t push his luck with a child who would just push him back.

Yamato stared at him with his mouth hanging open in shock, and Iruka blinked. "Are you... Okay?"

"Iruka!" Kurenai cut in, and Iruka watched as Yamato closed his mouth and turned away, blinking. He looked over at the kunoichi, who was fixing him with a broad smile. "You've been doing such a great job with Mirai, she really loves school. I just wanted to say thank you."

Modestly bobbing his head, Iruka replied; “Well, that’s really Anko’s influence, not mine.” She was Mirai’s main teacher, after all.

Everyone fell silent as Naruto and Hinata got to their feet.

As they spoke, making their grand announcement, Iruka ducked his head and poured himself a glass of wine, preparing for the toasts that were sure to come.

Konohamaru lead the clapping loudly and enthusiastically. Boruto wriggled off of Iruka’s lap to run over to his parents, yelling in excitement about how he wanted a little brother, causing laughter to ripple across the tables.

Iruka clapped along with everyone else, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the love in the room.

He wasn’t the only one, apparently. He saw the shock and happiness on Yamato’s face and the tears in his eyes as he too applauded.

Curious, Iruka leaned over and whispered; "You really didn't suspect it?"

“No”, Yamato responded, eyes wide. “Did you?”

“I guessed, so Naruto told me.”

The corners of Yamato’s lips twitched upwards. He spoke slowly. “You’re really close to him. I should have figured he would have told you.”

When he offered a glass of wine, Yamato accepted this time. The man took a sip, and then said; “I wish I got to see them more.” He talked so quietly that Iruka was unsure if he was supposed to hear.

Yamato turned back to him. “Do you remember what you said to me, when we first met at that bar? The first time, I mean.”

Iruka only vaguely recalled them meeting there, as if through a haze. It had been a few years. He frowned.

“One of the first times we met, anyway”, Yamato clarified, drumming his fingers against his glass. “You told me you thought I’d made a good impact on Naruto and Sakura. I wanted to tell you that meant a lot to me.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t remember losing my family. I suppose I must have done- well, they lost me. I coped with it differently than you.”

Iruka's gaze softened. Yamato may have been a man in front of him, his frame large, but he had a sudden glimpse of what he thought Yamato may have been like as a child, unsure and solemn. “Everyone deals with things differently, Yamato.”

“I don’t think I did too badly, though.” He looked over towards Naruto and his friends, and Iruka followed suit.

And instead, found Kakashi’s face looming next to him.

“None of us did too bad.”

“Kakashi!”, Yamato yelped, smacking at the Hokage. His own breathing was as ragged as Iruka’s as they each struggled to recover from that scare.

Kakashi merely laughed at them as they recovered, and Kurenai and Tsunade joined in.

“No”, Iruka agreed when he could speak again, “None of us did too bad.”

“We made a good team, in a way”, Yamato remarked. He took another sip of his drink.

The food came around and the alcohol continued to flow. By the end of the night, Iruka could feel the warmth of the alcohol flushing his face, yet he didn't feel drunk at all; barely tipsy, if anything.

Tsunade was a different story. She was half-slumped over, two empty bottles on either side of her. Kakashi had tried to balance them on her shoulders before Iruka told him to stop.

Naruto and Hinata moved from table to table, saying goodbye to everyone. They came to their table last.

"Well, I'm going home." Kakashi looped a scarf about his already completely covered shoulders and snuggled down further into his large cloak.

"Guess I’d better go with you. I need to pick up Mirai." Kurenai shrugged. "Lead on, Kakashi."

Once they were gone, Yamato looked down at the table, and the woman sprawled across it. "I can walk Tsunade home."

"I can give you a hand if you want", Iruka offered. He stifled a yawn against his hand.

"I thought you were staying in our guest room tonight?", Naruto asked.

He waved a hand. “Oh, no, I couldn’t impose like that.”

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all, dad”, Hinata told him.

“And Boruto would love to have you stay.”

“Yeah!” Boruto darted out of nowhere, hanging onto Iruka’s leg.

Iruka stared around at the others, all now standing by the door. Only Shikamaru, Temari, and Sakura were still there from among the ‘kids’.

“Well, I guess I’m outvoted then.”

“Alright”, said Kurenai, “I guess I’ll see you when I see you, then, Iruka.”

Further farewells were exchanged. Kakashi and Kurenai were the first to leave, slipping out nearly completely unnoticed. Shikamaru, Temari, and Sakura followed just a few yards behind them, all walking together. It was starting to grow dark outside.

Iruka lifted Boruto up in his arms and Tsunade squished his little cheeks together with the palms of her hands as Yamato gently steered her towards the door. To his surprise, Boruto loved it, laughing hysterically. He couldn't tell whether the toddler was in a good mood because of the news, or if it was just because of Tsunade.

She eventually drew away towards the door. Yamato stepped into her place, kissing Boruto's forehead. He met Iruka's gaze with twinkling eyes as he stepped back to Tsunade's side.

"Goodnight", he told them, nodding his head politely.

Tsunade took Yamato's arm when he offered it, and then they were away.

Iruka stood on the doorstep with his family and watched them go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live for Naruto and Hinata calling Iruka 'dad'.


	6. Chapter 6

“I remember many of your parents’ first years here.”

Iruka distinctly heard a groan from his captive audience, and he knew without having to look who it was complaining.

Although, he could understand. He was acting old, and he knew it. Recently he found himself reminiscing fondly about the smallest things, things that should most definitely not bring a smile to his face.

“I’m so proud of how they’ve grown, and I’m sure you will all catch up to them in no time at all.”

He paused.

Time was passing by, and it didn’t feel like his own time at all: It felt like the time of an era that had long passed and faded away, one that existed before the world they lived in knew of war at all.

The claps sounding out in the hall were half-hearted.

A voice called out: “Can we go home now?”

Iruka searched for the culprit and met a pair of round baby blue eyes. He sighed. That certainly hadn’t been the intended finale to his lecture. Still, when faced with a group all under the age of ten, it would be hard to keep their interest for much longer.

“Yes, you may leave now.”

About a quarter of the children at the academy, many of whom Iruka was already familiar with, cheered and leaped from their seats: The rest trickled from the hall in a more orderly fashion.

Boruto had been one of the first ones out the door. Luckily, Iruka knew the school much better than the boy did, for all of his explorations, and was much faster than him. He caught up in no time.

“Boruto.”

“What-” Boruto twisted towards him and a panicked look crossed his tiny face. “Where did you come from?”

“The same hall as you.” Iruka smiled. “Your parents have invited me over for dinner, so I told your dad that I would walk with you.”

Boruto sighed and rolled his eyes, scuffing his feet. Iruka could understand: At the beginning of the academic year, Boruto had rejected Iruka's offer of being walked home, stating that having his grandpa take him home would be embarrassing. But, on his final day, Iruka wasn’t going to let him off.

A gaggle of assorted small children thronged around Iruka’s feet, some he recognized and some he did not. Chouchou and Sarada walked towards the rear of the group for the first few blocks before splitting off, deviating in the direction of Sakura’s house.

In the end, only Shikadai and Inojin were left walking alongside Iruka and Boruto. The usual gentle sounds of the village surrounded them, a gentle bubbling brook in the sunny afternoon, and Iruka's step was light. For once, he was leaving all of his work behind him. Now he was simply determined to relax and spend time with his family.

The peace was interrupted by Boruto yelling and bolting into the distance.

“Boruto! Come back!” Iruka yelled, spinning in his direction.

Before he could take a step in the direction where Boruto had vanished, Shikadai was also racing the same way, and he had grabbed hold of Inojin’s arm to pull him along.

Iruka sighed and traced their steps to the next block over, where he was surprised to find the trio gathered around a broad-shouldered man, heads tipped back to stare.

Of course it was Yamato, Iruka thought to himself.

The man looked somewhat uncomfortable, standing in the middle of the road and penned in by a triangle of kids.

“I thought I saw you between the houses”, Boruto was saying, voice breathless.

“Did you just come back from an important mission?”, Shikadai asked, tilting his head.

Inojin did not speak, but he watched Yamato with an expression he had clearly inherited from his mother, one that could only be described as calculating.

Wide-eyed and earnest, Yamato replied; “Yes, I did, in fact. Very important.”

“Tell us!”, Boruto burst out, and he was bouncing up and down on the spot. “Were there enemies? Did you have to leave the village? Did you go to the Hidden Sand Village? Shikadai’s uncles live there!”

Yamato opened his mouth and closed it again, as though attempting to formulate a response. He opened it again, then glanced up. When he spotted Iruka he closed it once more.

The kids, noticing the shift in his expression, turned to gawk at Iruka.

Shikadai was the first to compose himself. Drawing himself up self-importantly, he announced; “Yamato, this is Iruka-sensei. He’s a teacher at the academy. And Boruto’s grandpa.”

“Duh, he already knows that, dummy.” Boruto rolled his eyes.

“Who are you calling dummy?” He pushed Boruto, and Iruka grasped each of them by the arm to separate them before they can get into a real fight.

Boruto stuck his tongue out and Shikadai rolled his eyes.

Although he tightened his grip slightly, Iruka met Yamato’s gaze over the children’s heads, and the two of them shared a grin.

His attention was dragged away by Inojin, tugging at his pants leg. Once he had glanced down, the blond boy raised his arms. Inojin still loved being held and carried. Iruka hoped he would grow out of it; soon he wasn’t sure if he’d still be able to carry the small blond boy. Years of peace had done wonders for his mind but not so much for his muscles.

“So, where are you guys off to, then?”, Yamato asked amicably, tucking his hands inside his vest and rocking back on his heels in a way that eerily reminded Iruka of Kakashi.

“It was the last day of their first year today”, Iruka explained, fumbling as he attempted to draw Inojin closer to his chest. “I’m taking them home. We’re heading to Shikamaru and Temari’s first; this one is staying there for the evening while his parents are working. Then I’m going to Naruto’s for dinner.”

“Dad said he’d come home early tonight!”, Boruto yelped, bouncing up and down on the spot.

Inojin meanwhile had reached around and was pulling at Iruka's ponytail. Iruka let him pull it out- no use complaining and upsetting them, it was no big deal really- and shook his hair out, making his eyes roll wildly as he does so, a trick from his youth, to make Inojin laugh. It worked; the boy clapped his hands, dropping the hairband in the process.

"I got it!", Shikadai announced. He picked it up and looped it around his fingers, then opened and closed them so that they strained against the band.

"It looks like a monster’s mouth", Boruto said, "Look.”

Shikadai began to chase him along the street and back. Inojin’s hold on Iruka's neck tightened minutely.

“I used to have long hair, too”, Yamato said. “It went down to my waist.” He smiled. “Of course, I was a lot smaller then, so it probably wasn’t that long.”

“Really?” Iruka tried to imagine it and failed.

“Yes. I don’t have any pictures, though. I wish I did.”

“You could always grow it out again.”

“I had thought about it but… It might get in the way.”

“That never seemed to bother any of the kunoichi. Never bothered me, either.” Iruka shrugged. He shook out his hair again, whole body shaking like a dog’s, and Yamato laughed a little as Inojin squealed where Iruka jostled him.

“I could do a picture of you with long hair, Uncle Yamato, to help you decide”, Inojin piped up breathlessly.

Yamato’s smile grew, wide eyes narrowing to slits as his cheeks turned up. “Okay then. I look forward to seeing it.” He leaned forward to clumsily pat a large hand against the boy’s cheek. “Be sure to make me look good.”

Looking past the other man, Iruka noticed that Boruto had wrestled Shikadai to the ground and was currently knelt on his chest. “Boruto! Get off of him! Both of you get over here now!”

They leaped to their feet, Shikadai spluttering and dusting himself off. Boruto reached out a hand to help and Shikadai kicked him in the shin.

As they dashed in the direction of home, Iruka turned back to Yamato. “We had better get going.”

Inojin slithered down Iruka's leg and plonked butt-first onto the ground. Iruka grinned: He rarely saw Inojin so animated. He was usually quiet, like his father.

Without hesitating, Yamato stooped to lift him back onto his feet. He waited until Inojin was steady before releasing his arms.

Boruto skidded to a stop beside them, feet kicking up a cloud of dirt, and clutched at Iruka's side to steady himself before blinking up at Yamato, the sky reflected in his eyes. “Are you coming to dinner, too?”

Yamato’s smile faded. “Sorry, Boruto, I’m busy. On that top-secret mission, remember?”

“Okay…” Boruto shrugged and began kicking up another cloud of dirt.

Iruka caught his hand.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

Shikadai returned to take his other hand, any former gripes about being walked home by their teacher apparently forgotten. Inojin walked beside him.

“Wave goodbye to Yamato”, Iruka told them cheerily, and he had to half-turn as Boruto and Shikadai each twisted in his grip to wave.

He was still looking back when Boruto broke forward and yelled; “Race you two to the end of the road!”

As they walked off, the kids running around and chattering happily, Iruka glanced back to see Yamato watching after them, a rather wistful expression written on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

Iruka's bones ached as he meandered home that night: A sure sign of his age. His neck twinged, yet he still kept his head craned back to watch the stars while he walked. They looked like little white-sand islands in a black sea. There was no need for him to look down: He knew the path from the school to his house so well he was sure he could walk it blind, and there was no need to watch out for danger with the village being safer than it had ever been.

He wasn’t quite sure what made him look down the dark winding alley as he passed it. Perhaps he sensed that someone was there. In any case, he darted his gaze away again, ignoring the figure slumped against the wall. Most likely a drunk.

In the second that he glanced away however he had already registered who it was leaning into the darkness. He stopped in the middle of the street, in between the glare of the streetlights, frozen.

A single glint of pale silver, dulled by years and the shine of the weak moonlight.

“Yamato?”

When he called out Yamato turned to look at him, and Iruka started.

He looked nothing like the teacher remembered at all. His wide eyes were offset by dark bags piled underneath them. One of his hands was tucked inside his vest, but the one held at his side was shaking.

Iruka abandoned the well-lit path.

“What’s wrong? Has something happened”, he asked as he approached the jonin.

His heart began to thud in his throat as Yamato stared at him without answering. All these years of peace; a falsehood, he knew. How could there ever truly be peace? He thought of Boruto, of Himawari. Would they be ready to fight, if they had to, as so many of his students had fought before? Would he have to hide with them to keep them safe, as an attack raged around them, as he had with Konohamaru and his friends on the day of Orochimaru’s invasion?

“It’s nothing, really”, Yamato said, his voice even. Too calm.

Iruka shook his head violently, grasped Yamato’s upper arms. The man was slouching and Iruka pulled him up to stand straight, feeling biceps tense beneath his grip.

“Don’t lie to me. What’s going on?” Something dawned on him. “It’s Orochimaru, isn’t it?”

Yamato jumped. “How did you know that?”

Iruka tightened his grip. “Has it already begun? Is he here?” They had to get to Naruto. Orochimaru had killed Lord Third, he remembered that well enough. He didn’t think he could kill Naruto, he had tried and failed previously, but Iruka wasn’t about to take any chances. If Orochimaru was attacking now he clearly had a plan; the man may have been insane but he wasn’t stupid, and he most definitely wasn’t suicidal.

Yamato was staring at him, head tilted. “What?”

“The invasion”, Iruka gasped.

Yamato’s face is so close to his now. His eyes are huge dark pools, black as the night sky.

“Oh”, he said. “Oh.” He clasped Iruka's hands between his own trembling ones and gently removed them from his arms. They felt clammy and cold. “There’s no invasion, Iruka. You don’t have to worry at all. You’re safe, I promise.”

“But- Orochimaru-”

“I’m the only one who has to deal with him now.” Yamato was smiling, face calm yet bitter.

Iruka took a deep breath and stepped back. His feet felt heavy, like boulders.

“Deal with him?”, he asked. “How?”

“Kakashi has assigned me as his guard. He’s at a secure location. I’ve just come back from… His home.” Yamato spoke calmly and slowly, each word dripping with some sort of... Regret? Guilt? Iruka wasn't sure.

Yamato was quiet for a moment, and Iruka appreciated it: His head was spinning while he attempted to process that news. He continued; “I think Kakashi believes guarding him will give me some sense of justice. That I get to watch the man who tormented me through my childhood suffer.” He met Iruka's eyes. “But I don’t want anything to do with him.” He shrugged. “And I don’t think he’s really suffering as much as the rest of the village thinks.”

“What do you mean?”

Yamato looked away. “Oh, it’s nothing.” Neither of them spoke for a moment, and then Yamato said; “I understand it’s an important job, but sometimes being around him… It gets to me.” His voice dropped to a mere murmur, and Iruka strained to hear him. “And the jars… All those jars.”

“I can talk to Kakashi about it if you like”, Iruka said quickly. He didn’t like the way Yamato was retreating back into himself, his voice and face growing blanker, emptier. “Naruto and the others would listen, too.”

“No. I don’t want to make a fuss.” Yamato attempted a smile. “Besides, it’s my duty and I’m happy to protect the village.”

Iruka wasn’t convinced: Yamato still wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“Well, if you’re sure”, he said eventually. He tucked his hands into his jacket pockets to keep them warm.

All of a sudden, Yamato looked up to meet his gaze, and the full intensity of his gaze made Iruka want to reel back. “What are you doing out so late, anyway?”

“Ah.” Iruka huffed a breath. “I stayed late at the school to get some paperwork and things done: I’m just heading home.”

“I can walk you home if you like.”

Iruka hesitated. He really didn’t need company on his journey. But, he thought, it seemed that Yamato might.

“Sure.”

The two of them set off, walking not quite shoulder to shoulder, through the dead quiet of the normally bustling village.

Out of the quiet came Yamato’s voice, disembodied in the night. “When I’m away from the village I forget, sometimes.”

“You forget?”

A soft exhale. “Why I’m doing this… All of this shit that I’m doing. But when I’m back here, I remember.”

Iruka looked at him. Yamato was keeping his eyes trained straight ahead.

“I can never remember such peace in the village before”, the jonin continued. “The children grow up happy, with loving families.”

Iruka thought of Boruto and Himawari; of Sarada; of Inojin, Shikadai, Chouchou; of all of the other children that chased about his feet, shrieking with laughter, when he crossed the schoolyard. He let himself smile.

“Yeah. We’ve been introducing other classes at the academy now, you know.”

“Other classes?”

“Yep. Things outside of fighting and survival. Like arts and crafts, cooking, sports. It’s… Getting better.” There was a long way to go yet; things wouldn’t change completely with Naruto’s inauguration as the Hokage. But it was a start.

Even though Iruka knew that Yamato would most likely not appreciate those changes, since he never attended the academy himself, the small smile that crossed his face was hopeful.

“Sai told me he got to do an art class with some of the groups last year. It sounded like he enjoyed it.” Yamato glanced at Iruka. “How was he as a teacher?”

“Not bad, surprisingly. He actually seemed less nervous than Shino. You know… Maybe I could arrange for you to come in, to talk about your work?”

However, Yamato was already shaking his head. “No. I don’t think my work is all that appropriate for kids.”

He continued to smile as he spoke, but his eyes were still disquieting. Large and empty.

Coming up in the distance was a sight as familiar to Iruka as his own home: Ichiraku's. Light streamed from the door of the ramen restaurant even at that late hour.

Iruka found his feet coming to a halt outside.

“Hey”, he reached out, without thinking, and his fingers brushed Yamato’s sleeve. The fabric was soft and surprisingly cool beneath his fingers.

Yamato jumped a little.

“Ah- sorry.” Iruka let his hand fall. They stood in the lights for a moment, Iruka shuffling one foot, before he asked; “Did you want to get something to eat? My treat.”

“I am kind of hungry, but…” Yamato stopped almost sheepishly, peering up at Iruka from under his lowered gaze. “Don’t you need to sleep?”

“It’s fine”, Iruka assured him, attempting to sound less tired than he was. “I need to eat, too.” Well, that was true. It felt like his stomach was almost touching his spine.

Yamato’s face was completely illuminated by the lights, so solemn and still, before it finally broke into a genuine smile. Happiness lit his gaze for the first time since Iruka saw him against the wall, and he stepped away and opened the curtains for Iruka to walk through without another word.


End file.
